| Fair Labor Association's Foxconn investigation notes improved factory conditions Aug 21st 2012, 22:21  Back in March, the Fair Labor Association issued the results of its investigation of Foxconn's Chinese plants, spurring a joint effort between Apple and the manufacturer to make working conditions better for employees. The non-profit has since followed up to investigate the fruits of the companies' promise, visiting three Foxconn facilities for a visual inspection of the factories and review of documentation like payroll records and policies. The FLA discovered a fair amount of progress being made on its visits, noting, Many physical changes to improve worker health and safety have been made since the investigation, including the enforcement of ergonomic breaks, changing the design of workers' equipment to guard against repetitive stress injuries, updating of maintenance policies to ensure equipment is working properly, and testing of emergency protective equipment like eyewashes and sprinklers. Foxconn has also engaged consultants to provide health and safety training for all employees. Also on the list is the election of unions, extension of insurance coverage and the reduction of the work week down to (a still over-the-limit) 60 hours. The organization has promised to continue to monitor progress as Foxconn and Apple work to meet all of its goals. Check out the source link below for a more complete look at the findings. Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs Fair Labor Association's Foxconn investigation notes improved factory conditions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  MacRumors |  Fair Labor Association | Email this | Comments | | Report: 'Nintendo Power' to close its doors Aug 21st 2012, 21:56  As children of the 80s and 90s, we're getting a little misty-eyed writing this, but it seems that Nintendo Power, once the final word in the gaming magazine world, will be shutting its doors. That news comes from a source over at Ars Technica and seems pretty well backed up by a number of tweets from the magazine's staff discussing plans for the final issues of the magazine -- which, for some reason or other have since been pulled from the microblogging service. Nintendo Power published its first issue in the summer of 1988, becoming the leading voice in a gaming landscape dominated by the NES. According to Ars, Nintendo had proven "difficult to work with" and was no longer interested in keeping the brand going. Report: 'Nintendo Power' to close its doors originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Joystiq | Ars Technica | Email this | Comments | | Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises slim satellite broadband hotspots Aug 21st 2012, 21:29  Intellectual Ventures is best known for its tendency to sue everyone, but it's going some distance to mend that bruised image through a newly spun out company, Kymeta. The startup hopes to improve the quality of satellite broadband through mTenna-branded, Ka-band hotspots made from metamaterials -- substances that can boost and manipulate a satellite signal while occupying virtually no space, leading to self-pointing transceivers that are just a fraction of the size of what we use today. That still amounts to equipment the size of a laptop running at a peak 5Mbps, although it's small enough that Kymeta sees hotspots reaching individual customers who want access from a boat, a car or the field. We'd just advise against tossing out the MiFi too quickly. Kymeta doesn't expect the hotspot to be ready before late 2014 at the earliest, and that leaves many questions about how much of a hit we'll take to the pocketbook. Filed under: Wireless, Networking Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises slim satellite broadband hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink GeekWire, Techmeme | Kymeta | Email this | Comments | |
